The Return of the Native

Starring:Catherine Zeta-Jones, Clive Owen, Ray Stevenson, Steven Mackintosh, Claire Skinner, Paul Rogers, Joan Plowright, Celia Imrie, Richard Avery, Peter Wight, Jeremy Peters, Gregg Saunders, John Boswall, William Waghorn, Matthew Owens, Britta Smith, John Breslin, Daniel Newman, John Boswell
Director: Jack Gold
Studio: Hallmark
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Haunting River of No Return
Mitchim offers a portrayal of total integrity with all the conviction of a Joel McCrea or Randolph Scott...
RIVER OF NO RETURN
Underrated Monroe vehicle
wild river

River of No Return
Starring: Robert Mitchum , Marilyn Monroe , Rory Calhoun , Tommy Rettig , and Murvyn Vye
Director: Jean Negulesco , and Otto Preminger
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Romance | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Niagara
Bus Stop
Heaven Knows Mr. Allison
Bend Of The River
The Last Wagon

ASIN: B000FUH38C
Release Date: 2002-05-14

Amazon.com

The dew of new stardom was still visible on Marilyn Monroe when she ventured up to Canada to shoot this sturdily entertaining CinemaScope Western. Although director Otto Preminger later claimed little interest in the picture, he couldn't help but bring his even-handed visual style to the widescreen process. The location shooting (in Alberta) is eye filling, and that river really does look alarming. Best of all, Marilyn, fresh and vital, had a costar to match her magnetism but not humor her sometimes-scattered approach to acting: Robert Mitchum, as a homesteader with a dark past. He's weighty enough to stand next to MM's bright flame without giving any ground; they should have worked together again. Since Marilyn plays a saloon singer, she gets to sling some tunes in her inimitable style, with as much glamour as the gold rush-era trappings will allow, giving "I'm Going to File My Claim" various meanings. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Haunting River of No Return.......2007-01-11

The background music of this excellent film is beautifully haunting and very suited for the movie. We have watched this film AT LEAST 6 times and is on a par with The Duke's Rio Bravo.

Mitchim offers a portrayal of total integrity with all the conviction of a Joel McCrea or Randolph Scott..........2006-11-10

Perhaps because of his air of detachment, the typical Mitchum situation is one of being drawn into events... Otto Preminger's "River of No Return" is set in Northwest Canada, in savage Indian territory, in the gold rush days... The plot is weak but the scenery is spectacular and the action of the river dramatically powerful... Otto Preminger knew how to create tension and threat in the grandeur and menace of the Canadian Rockies...

The film opens in 1875 with widower Matt Calder (Mitchum), coming to town, where his ten-year-old son Mark (Tommy Rettig) is waiting for him... He has served a term in prison for shooting a man in the back, even though he shot the man only to keep him from murdering a friend... Mark has now been sent to join his father, who has bought a farm for them...

Mark has made the acquaintance of Kay (Marilyn Monroe), a saloon singer, while waiting for his father.... Calder thanks Kay for her kindness to his boy, and father and son depart for their farm...

One day, Calder sees Kay and gambler Harry Weston (Rory Calhoun) in trouble on a raft in the river near his home... He helps them ashore and learns that Watson is in a hurry to get to town to register a gold claim... So eager is he that he steals his rescuer's only horse, and leaving his girl behind as well, rides away...

The predicament of those left is deepened by the fact that Indians are on a rampage and are due to attack the farm at any moment... The only way left to get to town is by a wild river...

Photographed in Technicolor and CinemaScope, the film is designed to exploit the splendors of the mountains, trees and rapid rivers plus the magnetic pleasant figure of Marilyn who is the only charming woman surrounded by two handsome men and a charming kid...

Marilyn sings 4 numbers in the film: "One Silver Dollar," "I'm Gonna File My Claim," "Down in the Meadow," and "The River of No Return."

The little boy, Tommy Rettig, played another big-scale Western, Delmer Daves' "The Last Wagon," with Richard Widmark, Felicia Farr, and Susan Kohner...

RIVER OF NO RETURN.......2006-08-26

VERY WELL WRITTEN AND PRODUCED. GOOD PERFORMANCES BY ALL THE MAJOR ACTORS, (MARILYN MONROE, ROBERT MITCHUM, TOMMY RETTIG, & RORY CALHOUN). CHET ATKINS GUITAR PERFECT FOR THE TITLE SONG.

Underrated Monroe vehicle.......2006-07-22

I very much enjoyed this movie.
It has something for everybody:beautiful scenery,great songs,the beauty of Marilyn,a bit of action,suspense.
The movie-going Public in the 50's did not enjoy Monroe in straight roles,and proved it by not buying many tickets to watch these films.
'Don't Bother to Knock','Niagara','The Misfits',and 'River of no Return' had very average Box-Office appeal.
However,i find this film pleasant to watch.The chemistry with Robert Mitchum works well.It is a nice touch to see Marilyn interact with a child (Rettig is doing a good job),but my favorite scenes are the ones at the Saloon.Monroe was doing her own singing,which was quite a rare occurance for actresses of that era.
Also something I found interesting,was the depiction of the Marilyn character,basically a 'Bad-girl' trying hard to be a 'Good-girl'.She plays it rather convincingly,in showing the dilemna of such an exercise.
To conclude,i believe that it is safe to say that this is not the best film of Preminger,but then again not his worst (calling..Skidoo ?)

wild river .......2006-06-03

This is the first Marilyn Monroe movie I saw in which she played a sophisticated character - a salon singer who gave her every penny for her untrustworthy boyfriend to file claim on a potential goldmine. And she played it well and sang beautifully.

The fact that the movie was shot in the picturesque Canada certainly helped. The roaring river and the rocky cliffs did not pale even when compared with River Wild (Meryl Streep) made decades later. Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe were a perfect couple. Two lonely souls in the west who deserved a better life.

For the superb cineamatography, the theme song (sang by Monroe during the movie and again at the end in a western cowboy style) and the leading characters, this is a movie to see.

Average customer rating:

Rescuing "Yellow Hands"
gritty realism
The Sioux fight for their lands
What, More Horse Chunks?
Still stands Up

The Return of a Man Called Horse
Starring: Richard Harris , Gale Sondergaard , Geoffrey Lewis , William Lucking , and Jorge Luke
Director: Irvin Kershner
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Westerns | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Little Big Man
Jeremiah Johnson
The Last of His Tribe
Geronimo - An American Legend
Dances with Wolves - Extended Cut (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

ASIN: B00005LOL1
Release Date: 2001-09-04

Description

"A Man Called Horse returns at full gallop" (Los Angeles Times) in this exceptional western that follows the plight of a horribly wronged tribe of Sioux Indiansand the quest of the one man who would lead them to victory. The Return of a Man Called Horse is a "visually stunning" (Variety) and "hauntingly beautiful vision of American history" (Los Angeles Times). Lord John Morgan (Richard Harris), disillusioned with the "civilized" aristocracy of England, returns to the American West in search of the vital and rugged life he once led among the proud Yellow Hand tribe. But what he finds instead is destruction: a brutal and bloody war inflicted on his adopted blood brothers by an unscrupulous trapper and his followers. Decimated, enslaved and swept from their home, their only hope of regrouping, retaining their ancient customs and fighting backfor their sacred homeland now lies with Morgan...a man they call Horse.

Customer Reviews:

Rescuing "Yellow Hands".......2006-07-25

I'm always fascinated with books & movies that deal with the interaction of subjects from different cultures such as "Shogun", "Lawrence of Arabia", "Dances with Wolves" or "Broken Arrow".

The original film "A Man Called Horse" (1970) has had a very special place in my memory and heart. Its sequel "The Return of a Man Called Horse" (1976) wasn't so good, nevertheless is quite enjoyable.

It tells the story of Lord John Morgan's return to the plains around 1840. He was languishing at his states in England when suddenly he feels the urge to return to America.
He discovers that the Yellow Hands has been expelled from their sacred lands, her women enslaved and the rest of the tribe condemned to a miserable life due to the "in force" invasion of some fur traders.
The trader gang has constructed a stronghold including cannons and settling allied native around the fort.
Lord Morgan or Horse as he is known to his Sioux kin starts a new epic experience. Self imposing extreme hardships, first to attain a "vision", then he strengths very young tribesmen thru sacred rites, next he trains women to fight and finally devices a plan to expel the usurpers.
The final combat is film's culmination and a very good action piece.

Harris performs again with deep conviction even if the script is not as good as the original one he extract the maximum from his character.
This time Sioux warriors are fleshed by Mexican actors and actresses instead of the multinational cast of the first film, without lose.

Even with its flaws this film moves the spectator to admire and respect Native American culture.

Give this film a try, you won't be disappointed!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

gritty realism.......2006-03-25

Whether fact or fiction, everytime I watch this movie you can taste the era.

The Sioux fight for their lands.......2005-12-06

This is a sequel to the 1970 A MAN CALLED HORSE. In that movie Richard Harris is John Morgan, an Englsih baron captured by the Yellow Hand Sioux in the early 1800s and raised by them; being a great fighter he was given his freedom and returned to England in 1821.

Now, three years later, Harris is bored in England and decides to return to America. When he does he finds the Yellow Hand have been driven off their lands or enslaved by white traders. He leads them in a fight to regain their lands.

The movie is shot almost totally from the Indians' perspective, and great care has been taken to get it right and to treat the Indians and their ways honestly. There is a lengthy self-mutilation ceremony that is quite gory (but authentic); it was cut from some earlier prints as being too graphic, but it's essential as to why the tribe decides to fight for their land (they must purge themselves of the evil spirit first). The really memorable thing about the movie is the photography: the Dakota landscape is spectacular.

What, More Horse Chunks?.......2004-12-15

Harris reprises his weak and tepid role of an 1800's gentleman who can't stomach modern life in England so he goes back to the Plains to find his adopted tribe of Sioux Indians. He finds them on the verge of extinction, starvation and he is there to lead them to new hope, which means bowing to his leadership. Why the Sioux didn't kill him in the first film goes beyond reason. More silly stuff from hippies in the 1970's in this second installment of the wildly popular but empty "A Man Called Horse" saga. Look for a psychedelic scene where Harris is "behind" naked while emerged in color shots of eagles flying in the sky.

Still stands Up.......2004-11-25

The first movie was a departure from the everyday" Cowboy Indian movie with a few good twists albeit you could see them comming. Good story to be told, and Part 2 Still with Richard Harris is one of the best follow up movies to come down the pike for it's Genre. I owned and discoverd part 2 recently and was surprised how good it was, and stood up on it's own. All I'll say is in part 2 Harris becomes restless in England and revists his adopted indian family and it takes off from there. Harris is perfect for the role, an english Gentelman with a conscience.

Average customer rating:

Haunting River of No Return
Mitchim offers a portrayal of total integrity with all the conviction of a Joel McCrea or Randolph Scott...
RIVER OF NO RETURN
Underrated Monroe vehicle
wild river

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Romance | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Niagara
Bus Stop
Heaven Knows Mr. Allison
Bend Of The River
The Last Wagon

ASIN: B000062XG7
Release Date: 2002-05-14

Amazon.com

Description

Set against the majestic beauty of the great Northwest, Matt Calder (Robert Mitchum) is a rugged widower with a questionable past who decides it's time to start a new life with his young son, Mark (Tommy Rettig). But their peaceful existence is sabotaged when Matt is robbed and pistol-whipped by cold-blooded gambler Harry Weston (Rory Calhoun). Unexpectedly, Weston's fiancée, Kay (Marilyn Monroe) postpones her wedding so she can nurse Matt back to heath. In his pursuit to exact revenge at any cost, Matt takes Kay and Mark on a treacherous ride down a roaring river, where they're at the mercy of wild animals and a lawless frontier.

Customer Reviews:

Haunting River of No Return.......2007-01-11

The background music of this excellent film is beautifully haunting and very suited for the movie. We have watched this film AT LEAST 6 times and is on a par with The Duke's Rio Bravo.

Mitchim offers a portrayal of total integrity with all the conviction of a Joel McCrea or Randolph Scott..........2006-11-10

RIVER OF NO RETURN.......2006-08-26

VERY WELL WRITTEN AND PRODUCED. GOOD PERFORMANCES BY ALL THE MAJOR ACTORS, (MARILYN MONROE, ROBERT MITCHUM, TOMMY RETTIG, & RORY CALHOUN). CHET ATKINS GUITAR PERFECT FOR THE TITLE SONG.

Underrated Monroe vehicle.......2006-07-22

wild river .......2006-06-03

Average customer rating:

Ok for a cheap thrill
An Excellent Object Lesson
a brief adaptation, but I still liked it
Compelling and Engaging!Watch it and Buy it!
A Very, Very Poor Rendition of Hardy's Story

The Return of the Native
Starring: Catherine Zeta-Jones , Clive Owen , Ray Stevenson , Steven Mackintosh , and Claire Skinner
Director: Jack Gold
Manufacturer: Hallmark
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Tess of the D'Urbervilles
The Woodlanders
Second Sight, Vol. 1 & 2
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Croupier

ASIN: B0000639G5
Release Date: 2002-05-21

Customer Reviews:

Ok for a cheap thrill.......2007-04-05

I admit the only reason I got this was because it was inexpensive and I am a fan of Ray Stevenson from HBO's "ROME" as well as Clive Owen and my husband likes Catherine Zeta-Jones. It's the equivalent of a romance novel: light and forgettable but a guilty pleasure nonetheless.

An Excellent Object Lesson.......2007-03-30

Unlike the previous reviewer, I really liked this movie. It was a fascinating psychological study whether or not it was faithful to the book. Really, if you have read any of Thomas Hardy's books, you know that it would be impossible to turn any of them - even short ones like Jude the Obscure - into a movie shorter than 6 hours without having to sacrifice something! And who could stand that much suffering???

I admit that I'm particular to Catherine Zeta-Jones as she looks a lot like one of my daughters, and I think she did a fine job in this movie silently conveying inner passion and frustrated dreams. She is hypnotic and heartbreaking all at the same time.

Admittedly, Ray Stevenson was rather light and played his part like a kid playing at being an actor, but he was pretty much ignorable next to Catherine and Joan Plowright as his mother, and Steven Mackintosh as Diggory. In fact, Diggory comes across as the wisest and most stable person in the story.

In spite of the fact that it was made for TV, it was well-done and the scenery was beautiful. I've watched it twice with my children and used it as a jumping off point to discuss life and they enjoyed the movie and the discussion after!

a brief adaptation, but I still liked it.......2006-08-17

This is one of my favorite Hardy novels. It introduced me to Clive Owen and pre-Hollywood Catherine Z Jones (she even has bushy eyebrows! also, I thought her voice sounded overly dramatic at times).

It's sad that the people of the town disliked Eustacia, thought her a witch. However, it makes sense that they would think differently of her, as she's more attractive than anyone else in the area and acts as if she's superior. And definitely selfish. Still, that character is one of the most fascinating heroines (or anti-heroines, perhaps).

Lovely drowning scene.

Compelling and Engaging!Watch it and Buy it!.......2006-06-16

Every English major learns never to compare a book to a movie.They are not the same vehicle.If you love period movies, this made for TV version is thoroughly engaging and compelling.Catherine Zeta Jones's performance is complex and astonishingly bewitching.She was an extraordinarily talented actress for such a young age.The supporting actors are all terrific,especially Clyve's mother.The cinematography of the moors is errie and mysterious,mirroring the the feeling of entrapment and isolation that Eustacia feels in her soul.Eustacia's plight-which choice to make-is one which women struggle with and can identify with today.The plot is a tragedy to be certain,yet keeps one wondering how our own choices in life have affected our life's course.....would it have been differing IF??I would not have missed watching this movie am thrilled to have it in my collection.We watch it over and over again.Better than most period movies.

A Very, Very Poor Rendition of Hardy's Story.......2005-10-16

The director and script destroy both the insightful plot and character development of Hardy's brilliant novel. Where Hardy describes Wildeve as "one in whom women find nothing of which to object and in whom men find nothing to admire," Clive Owen's intensity and over-acting destroy the character and characteristic aloofness of Hardy's ambivalent and ordinary Wildeve. And compared to Hardy's complex and nuanced Eustacia, the Eustacia of the movie is revoltingly unprincipled and unsympathetic. It is difficult to imagine that Gold has any understanding of Thomas Hardy or the Late Victorians. Gold would have done better to direct a Harlequin Romance. The only things this film has in common with the novel are its title, character names, and location.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Devil Winds

Missy Elliott - Hits Of Miss E - Vol. 1

Kolobos

DVD: Bear and the Doll

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi - Vol. 3